A typical air-conditioning system includes temperature and/or pressure sensors placed within its plumbing to detect the temperature and/or pressure of a refrigerant in the system. In order to place the sensors, holes may be formed in the plumbing, the sensors may be inserted through the holes, and then the holes may be sealed to minimize the escape of the refrigerant from the system. The plumbing may be formed of flexible hoses extending between system components. In a mobile application, the air-conditioning system may include a belt-driven input shaft. O-rings, seals at connections or about the shaft, and/or other sealants are provided in order to contain the refrigerant within the system.
However, over time, the refrigerant may permeate through the flexible hoses, seals, and/or O-rings, escaping into the atmosphere and decreasing the operating efficiency of the air-conditioning system. To reduce the permeation, hermetically sealed air-conditioning systems use hard plumbing or metal pipe plumbing in place of the flexible hoses. Further, each joint or connection is welded or brazed so that seals and sealants are not necessary in the system.
On hermetically sealed systems, the temperature sensors may be placed within the system plumbing through mechanical joints. Accordingly, the temperature of the refrigerant may still be monitored. However, even still, these mechanical joints are potential leak paths of the refrigerant from the air-conditioning system.
One system that allows temperature reading from the exterior of a pipe is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,707,151 to Parker et al. The '151 patent discloses a temperature transducer assembly that may be used on a heat exchanger. The transducer assembly includes a housing, a signal producing assembly, and a mounting structure. The housing and mounting structure attach the signal producing assembly to a flow tube surface. However, the housing includes a wall section that separates the sensor from the tube. Accordingly, readings of the sensor may be slightly distorted. In addition, the transducer assembly may include more components than is necessary, rendering manufacturing of the transducer assembly more complex than is necessary.
This disclosure is directed to an air-conditioning assembly with a temperature sensing assembly that overcomes one or more of the deficiencies in the prior art.